Inside the building, the crowd huddled together, murmurs of fear rippling through the room.
Sakura moved among them, hands raised.
"Everyone, stay calm."
"You're safe here."
The crowd slowly settled, though tension still hung thick in the air.
Meanwhile, near the stage—
Johnson stepped back, his blindfolded eyes fixed forward despite seeing nothing.
Steel flashed.
Clang!
He blocked Alpha's blade just in time, sparks flying between them.
Alpha's cane rested lightly against the ground as he studied Johnson.
"You are very special..."
"You can sense everything..."
"...even while blind."
He tilted his blue hat slightly.
"You should join us."
Johnson steadied his stance, gripping his weapon tighter.
"I prefer to stay with Sir Void."
Alpha's expression remained unreadable.
"...I see."
He raised his sword again, ready to strike.
"Then I suppose we'll continue this the hard way."
Alpha's grip on his sword shifted slightly.
"I wanted to use this..."
He paused, tapping his cane once against the ground.
"...but I think it can wait."
His eyes narrowed beneath the brim of his hat.
"After all..."
"You're just a normal assassin."
Johnson let out a short laugh, low and confident.
"You underestimate me."
Alpha remained still, expression calm.
"No."
"But you have to know..."
"I'm a veteran."
Johnson's blindfolded gaze stayed steady, unshaken.
"So am I."
The two stood motionless for a moment, tension coiling between them like a drawn string.
Then—
Alpha's cane clicked once against the stone.
"Then let's see it."
Alpha lunged forward at incredible speed, blade slicing through the air.
Johnson reacted instantly, raising his sword to block.
Clang!
The force of the strike dragged him back several inches, his boots scraping against the stone floor.
He gritted his teeth, tilting his blade at an angle.
With a sharp motion, he broke free from the lock and swung his sword in a wide arc.
Alpha stepped back smoothly, letting the blade cut through empty air just inches from him.
Johnson pressed forward immediately, closing the distance again, sword thrusting toward Alpha's side.
Alpha shifted his weight, sliding back once more, creating space between them.
He straightened, studying Johnson calmly.
"Not bad."
Johnson lowered his stance, sword ready.
"I told you..."
"Don't underestimate me."
Alpha's grip tightened around his cane.
"I won't make that mistake twice."
Johnson lunged again, sword swinging in from the side.
Alpha dodged smoothly, stepping just out of reach.
Then he moved.
Fast.
He began spinning around Johnson in tight circles, his cane trailing behind him, kicking up dust with every step.
Johnson turned his head, trying to track the movement by sound alone.
"You're fast..."
"...for someone your age."
Alpha chuckled lightly, still spinning.
"Yep."
"Been training lately."
His movements blurred, circling faster, dust rising thicker around them both.
Johnson gritted his teeth, sword raised, trying to sense an opening.
He struck out once—
Missed.
Twice—
Missed again.
No matter which direction he swung, Alpha was already gone, shifting to another angle before the blade could land.
Johnson's breathing grew heavier, frustration building beneath his calm exterior.
"Damn it..."
"Hold still."
Alpha's voice echoed from somewhere within the swirling dust.
"Now where's the fun in that?"
Alpha suddenly stopped spinning.
Dust settled slowly around him.
But Johnson's senses caught something strange—
Two auras.
Identical.
His brow furrowed beneath his blindfold.
"I remember this trick."
From within the settling dust, Alpha's voice echoed, doubled somehow, overlapping itself.
"Really?"
"Then which one of us is real?"
A blade lunged from the left.
Johnson blocked it on instinct.
Clang!
At the same instant, another strike came from behind.
He twisted sharply, dodging just in time, the blade grazing past his shoulder.
A third strike came from the side.
He caught it, blades locking together.
"Your aura should be thinning..."
"Splitting yourself like this..."
Alpha's voice came from directly in front of him now, calm and amused.
"Am I?"
"Doesn't seem like it."
He lunged again, sword flashing through the dust-filled air, relentless and precise.
Alpha split further, three more copies emerging from the settling dust, all moving in perfect sync.
They lunged at Johnson from multiple angles at once.
Johnson's body reacted on instinct, weaving between the strikes, dodging by a hair each time.
He spotted an opening and struck one of the copies dead center.
His blade passed clean through.
The copy shattered into mist, vanishing instantly.
Johnson's expression didn't change.
"Wrong one."
More copies circled him, blades glinting through the haze.
He steadied his stance, listening carefully, trying to separate the real presence from the illusions surrounding him.
"Five of you now..."
"This is getting excessive."
Somewhere within the dust, the real Alpha's voice chuckled.
"Just getting started."
Another wave of copies lunged forward, blades cutting through the dust from every direction.
Johnson stood his ground, breathing steady, letting each false strike pass through the air around him.
Then—
He felt it.
A faint shift behind him.
Weight. Presence. Real.
Without turning, Johnson spun on his heel and swung his sword backward in a sharp arc, aiming directly at the figure standing behind him.
Steel met steel.
Clang!
Alpha blocked it just in time, catching the blade at an angle, sparks scattering across the dust-covered ground.
A low chuckle escaped him.
"Oh..."
"Close call."
Johnson didn't loosen his stance.
"I told you."
"I can sense everything."
He retracted his sword swiftly, then thrust it forward again in a clean, direct strike aimed straight at Alpha's chest.
Alpha tilted his blade at an angle, deflecting the thrust just enough to send it sliding past his side.
The remaining copies around them flickered, still holding their positions, watching silently.
Alpha's grip on his cane tightened slightly, his tone shifting, more serious now.
"Impressive."
"You really aren't just a normal assassin."
Johnson steadied himself, sword raised once more.
"I told you that too."
Alpha suddenly stopped his rapid movement.
The dust settled.
All his copies faded away at once, dissolving into the air until only one figure remained.
The real Alpha.
He lunged forward instantly, blade slicing toward Johnson's chest.
Johnson blocked it, steel clashing hard.
Before he could reset his stance, another strike came from behind.
He twisted, catching it just in time.
Then another from the side.
He blocked that too, though the force pushed him back a step.
Alpha's voice carried a faint edge of amusement.
"Can't move?"
He struck again, faster this time, blade after blade coming from different angles in rapid succession.
Johnson blocked each one, his movements growing tighter, more defensive.
Sparks flew with every clash.
His jaw tightened.
"This is getting irritating."
Alpha pressed forward without pause, relentless.
"Then let's see how long you can keep up."
Johnson lunged forward, sword aimed straight at Alpha.
Alpha shifted aside effortlessly, avoiding the strike with ease.
"Too slow."
In the same motion, his blade slashed across Johnson's chest.
Johnson's eyes widened in shock.
He staggered back, then collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest.
Blood seeped through his fingers.
"No..."
Alpha stood over him, lowering his sword calmly.
"I had a nice time with you."
He raised his hand, and with a swift, precise strike, knocked Johnson out cold.
Johnson's body went limp against the stone floor.
Alpha straightened, adjusting his hat, glancing down at the unconscious assassin.
"Loyal to Void, till the end..."
He turned away, cane tapping softly against the ground as he walked off, leaving Johnson behind in the settling dust.